re: Biggest Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Omissions(Posted by Tiger in Texas on 12/12/12 at 9:56 pm to Baloo)

quote:It's run by middle aged white guys who are still too busy jerking off to old footage from Woodstock to realize rock has moved on.

What??? They don't even recognize the Woodstock era bands, because if they did, Mountain, Johnny Winter, Ten Years After, etc. would all be in, among others. The Hall of Shame also does not recognize prog bands; no excuse for groups like Yes, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Soft Machine and Uriah Heep to not be in, and what about psych bands? Iron Butterfly, Amboy Dukes, Electric Prunes & Strawberry Alarm Clock?? First off, how the hell can any rap group be in the Hall of Shame?? Simply does not compute; I also feel Madonna does not belong & how the hell do you think Janet Jackson should be in?? She is not rock!

quote:I think if you lined Baloos list up next to the list of current HOF members and asked people to guess which list was the HOF one, everyone would think his list was the members list.

Well, to be fair, the RnR HOF does get the layups right. I mean, they've got Dylan, the Stones, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, etc. But they've also amazingly took three years to induct David Bowie, Pink Floyd, and Steely Dan. I don't get how those weren't 1st ballot, inner circle, slam dunk inductions.

To those criticizing rap and disco/dance getting in: You're wrong. Look at the very first people inducted. Here's the first class:

OK, I'll give em a pass on Robert Johnson as a "foundation" artist, but Ray Charles? I love Ray Charles, but he's not a rock artist. Neither is James Brown, the Godfather of Soul.

The Hall then inducted Hank Williams (country), Smokey Robinson (Motown), BB King (blues), Aretha Franklin (soul), Lead Belly (folk), Johnny Cash (country), the Supremes (girl group), Ricky Nelson (pop rock), Marvin Gaye (Motown) all in the first five years of existence (and whole heck of a lot more non-rock acts). The RnR HOF has honored non rock acts FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. To then turn around and say disco and hip hop don't make the cut is slicing the bread pretty thin. That horse is out of the barn. The rock Hall has never excluded non-rock acts. NEVER.

What gets me is that the Hall is honoring second tier older acts now. People are suggesting Mountain and Uriah Heep? Really? OK, I can see the case for Yes, mainly because prog is horribly under-represented, but know what's really under-represented more than any genre? Rock n roll than anyone under the age of 40 listened to. The Hall has completely whitewashed away the 80s rock scene, mainly because it didn't happen on major labels.

OK, I'll spot them hair metal. They should probably throw them a sop as well (come on in, Def Leppard!). But not having the trio of Sonic Youth, the Replacements, and the Pixies just demonstrates how out of touch the museum is. How do you write the history of rock without these bands? This isn't a second tier act like Heart (who I like), but these were the giants of their era. They defined 80s music (as did Duran Duran and INXS, also not in). It's just that they have no idea what pop music was after 1977.

quote:Thus in 1979 when Springsteen and the band featured on the No Nukes album and No Nukes film, the live performance was credited to both. The band received their first full credit on a Springsteen album with the release of Live/1975–85,

I suppose this has something to do with their exclusion. I believe the rule is 25 years after your first album or credit. That would mean either 2004 or 2011 was their initial eligibility year.

quote: But not having the trio of Sonic Youth, the Replacements, and the Pixies just demonstrates how out of touch the museum is. How do you write the history of rock without these bands? This isn't a second tier act like Heart (who I like), but these were the giants of their era.

None of those bands were as successful as Heart. I think you're letting your personal taste and preference override logic. The HOF is about success and popularity, by their very nature. Most people who say they are fans of the those three bands never even heard of them until about 2006. All three got an early treatment of the hipster craze.

I famously hate Sonic Youth. And I really like Heart. But if its just about how many units you pushed, then why is Zeppelin in the Hall of Fame? They never had a top ten single. Or the Velvet Underground, who never sold many albums at all.

But I would argue that the Replacements had a larger cultural impact than Heart. And, yes, I think it is literally impossible to write a history of rock n roll without them. And, if you see my post, there should also be a spot for industry-controlled unit shifters like Def Leppard.

And I highly doubt most people had never heard of the Pixies or the Replacements until 2006 (well, unless they are 25 and are working their way through rock history). That's just your personal taste going through. However, the point is, people HAVE heard of them and seek them out because they are the seminal bands of 80s rock n roll.

They were known for not releasing singles, thus they never had top singles. I'd be willing to bet they've sold more albums than the Pixies, Replacements, and Sonic Youth combined.

It's a popularity contest and those bands aren't terribly popular. It's no knock on them, just the nature of the beast.

Rush was a disgrace because they have sold a lot of albums and they are all three highly influential musicians. They just didn't have the mainstream singles that seem to be the obsession of the Hall of Flame.